GlowLight 4e - not the direction I was hoping B&N would go

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by bookyboy

I don't even know who they think is buying these.

Our local B&N store hasn't had Nook's on display for over a year....so even if you're in the store and maybe thinking about an e-reader, you wouldn't even know they sold any unless you went to their website by chance.

Very very odd strategy

Agreed. It's weird. They have them behind the main counter and you have to ask to see them (if you know to ask). Almost like they're ashamed of them. Very strange way to sell anything.

Originally Posted by MGlitch

This seems to have been their strategy for quite a long time. Even prior to Covid my local BN had maybe two devices haphazardly connected to an information desk. At some point that desk disappeared and took the nooks with it.

Same experience here. And half the time the Nooks weren't plugged in. If you could find whoever was supposed to run the information counter, they usually couldn't answer your questions anyhow. Far cry from the big Nook kiosk that used to greet you as you walked in the front door.

[Renate]

I hadn't noticed the 4e. Wow, they are aiming low and overpriced.
I have a GlowLight 4 (bought at the original high price) and I don't even think that's any great shakes. USB Type C, but not USB 3.0. My Onyx Poke3 syncs books 10 times faster.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Renate

I have a GlowLight 4 (bought at the original high price) and I don't even think that's any great shakes.

Speedwise, how does it compare to the Glowlight 2 and 3? I have those. I know the 4 has a faster processor. Is it noticeable?

[Renate]

I haven't kicked the tires much on the Glow '21. It works. Still, I can do about 20 page turns a second on my Poke3.

[Musicman]

I gave up on the Nook line, and bought a Nova2 when they came out.. Installed the Nook, Kindle, and Kobo app that work fine on the device.

For me, it was well worth the extra cost.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Musicman

I gave up on the Nook line, and bought a Nova2 when they came out.. Installed the Nook, Kindle, and Kobo app that work fine on the device.

I use Kobo and can buy books from B&N, Amazon and Kobo and read them on it. I looked at Android devices, but I'd rather stick with an e-ink reader than try to deal with apps that were designed for LCD screens and run poorly on e-ink

Nook still appeals to me because I like their hardware. Even their software is okay (not that I wouldn't appreciate major improvements!). The real problem is that B&N seemingly are clueless. They don't prominently display the Nooks in their store (their biggest advantage), so they miss the regular shoppers and they stubbornly stick to memory partitioning that makes the hobbyists mad.

[Renate]

I just took another look at my Glow '21. I needed something for outdoor guitar transcriptions and didn't want to use my Poke3. My Glow 2's & 3's don't do Bluetooth. I do have have a foot pedal connected to a command injector that connects to the console jack that I've installed on the back of most of my Glows. Unfortunately the Glow 2 with a good battery doesn't have that connector. The Glow 3 is my wall clock/status/weather. The Glow 4 (original) works fine (except that it doesn't have a screen).

In any case, after using the Poke3 for a year the Glow '21 feels really balky at starting apps, turning pages, everything.

[apastuszak]

My wife has used the nook since the very first one came out. I'm a Kindle user. We typically buy books on whatever device we're on and then "liberate" the books and sideload them on each other's devices.

I had HUGE problem with whatever nook model used the MTP protocol to transfer books. It gave me no end of hell with Calibre. At that point, I really wanted to move my wife to the Kindle, because I had no issues side-loading books. Heck, if we were both in the Amazon ecosystem, there would be a lot less sideloading to do.

Then a new model came out that didn't use MTP anymore, but had the memory partitioned off, so you could only sideload to part of the device. And the sideloaded content would show up under My Documents instead of books. Calibre eventually worked around that problem. But it really soured my experience with the nook.

Now my wife is on a Glowlight 3. But the MicroUSB port on the bottom is super flaky. Sometimes it charges. Other times it won't. So, I let her use my new Kindle Paperwhite. I thought for sure the faster device and the larger screen would hook her, and I could get her off the nook. But no such luck. She claims she likes the UI in the nook a lot better.

The one thing the nook does have going for it are the physical page turn buttons. I think the 4 and 4e are probably the lowest price point to have physical page turn buttons.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by apastuszak

...I think the 4 and 4e are probably the lowest price point to have physical page turn buttons.

A few of the PocketBook models are cheaper and they all have page turn buttons, but they're on the bottom instead of on the sides -- so it's not the same. PocketBook even has a couple models that don't have touch screens at all -- the Basic 4 (no front light) and Basic Lux 3 (front light with warm tones). The Touch Lux 5 is priced about the same as the Glowlight 4e, but has warm light as well. All three of these models have 212 ppi screens.

If your wife is used to Glowlight 3, I think I would avoid the lower resolution 4e and look at the 4 instead. Personally I think I would probably rather buy a refurbished or used Glowlight 3 -- I like their "oranger" screens.

[ZodWallop]

[QUOTE=apastuszak;4230814She claims she likes the UI in the nook a lot better.[/QUOTE]

I'm with her on that. I like the UI of the Nook. I like the larger covers and the author stacking and so on. If only the Nook's software was open as Kobo's is. The Nook can handle series, but only for books purchased from B&N.

It would be nice to be able to use Calibre to handle series and collections.

[Sirtel]

The decision to partition the memory again is really odd, given that the 2019 Glowlight Plus was not partitioned. I can't help but wonder about the thinking process of the person making that decision. Even Amazon doesn't partition their devices.

Still, even with no partitioning, I couldn't stand the Nook software. I tried to get used to it, but just couldn't. Too lacking in features I consider necessary for my reading experience.

These days I don't like the Kindle software much either anymore. My Oasis is gathering dust. I should probably sell it.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Agreed. It's weird. They have them behind the main counter and you have to ask to see them (if you know to ask). Almost like they're ashamed of them. Very strange way to sell anything.

Are they sold in a plain brown wrapper?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Are they sold in a plain brown wrapper?

I don't know, but I wouldn't doubt it. Do they figure that, if you come into the store, they would rather sell you paper books? Is that why they hide their eReaders now?

[ZodWallop]

I forget if I mentioned it, but last time I went to my local B&N, they yanked out the music and movies section and were filling it with more books. The remodel isn't done yet. Right now it feels a little cavelike. But more books for the win!

On the other hand, no Nooks on display and the information counter was cut to a third its former size. With the new found space, you'd think maybe a Nook kiosk or something...

[christianbk]

My local store has its help desk smack dab in the middle of the store, with Nook devices on one side. It isn't very approachable unfortunately, because there is always a staff member present, and I would have to think that someone who sees a Nook device would want to kind of look at it first without the pressure of a salesperson right there.

Also related: Nook / NOOK / nook? See B&N's website refer to it as NOOK. But on the actual device, it is displayed as "nook".